European leaders have said they will join Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky at his meeting with US President Donald Trump at the White House on Monday.Those travelling include UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, French President Emmanuel Macron, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and Nato Secretary-General Mark Rutte.It comes after Trump failed to reach a deal on ending the war in Ukraine during a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska on Friday.The US president has since said he wants to bypass securing a ceasefire in Ukraine in favour of a permanent peace agreement.Securing a ceasefire in Ukraine had been one of Trump’s core demands before meeting Putin, but afterwards posted on social media that they “often times do not hold up” and that it would be better “to go directly to a peace agreement”.European leaders have reacted with caution to the outcome of the Trump-Putin meeting, seeking not to criticise the change of direction despite their long-held support for a ceasefire.Putin reportedly presented Trump with a peace offer that would require Ukraine withdrawing from the Donetsk region of the Donbas, in return for Russia freezing the front lines in Zaporizhzhia and Kherson.Russia claims the Donbas as Russian territory, controlling most of Luhansk and about 70% of Donetsk. It also illegally annexed the Crimean peninsula in 2014, eight years before launching its full-scale invasion of Ukraine.The BBC’s US partner CBS has reported, citing diplomatic sources, that European officials were concerned Trump may try to pressure Zelensky into agreeing to the possible terms discussed in Alaska when they meet on Monday.Ukraine’s president has previously ruled out ceding control of the Donbas – composed of the Luhansk and Donetsk regions – saying it could be used as a springboard for future Russian attacks.Von der Leyen, who is meeting Zelensky in Brussels on Sunday, w …
